Fox in the Flash

The thunderstorm was supposed to be romantic. That's what TikTok said, anyway. But instead, Maya was stuck at Connor's house party, nursing a flat Sprite while everyone else played beer pong in the basement.

"You good?" Liam asked, sliding onto the couch next to her. He smelled like vanilla and expensive cologne. Maya's stomach did that annoying fluttery thing.

"Yeah," she lied. "Just... my mom made me take these vitamin D gummies before I left. Said I'm deficient. I think they're making me weird."

Lamin laughed. "You're not weird. You're just... thoughtful."

Thoughtful. Code word for boring. Maya reached for her phone, but lightning flashed through the sliding glass doors, followed by thunder that rattled the windows. The power died.

"Everyone stay calm!" Connor yelled from somewhere in the dark. "I've got flashlights!"

"Let's bail," Liam whispered. "Want to see something?"

Maya followed him out the back door into the rain. They ran to the edge of the yard, where the woods began. Another lightning strike illuminated everything — and there it was. A fox. Orange fur glowing in the flash, watching them with eyes like amber glass.

"No way," Maya breathed.

"He lives back here," Liam said. "I call him Rusty."

The fox tilted its head, then bolted into the trees as more lightning cracked across the sky. They were soaked now, hair plastered to their faces, shivering in the cold rain. And Maya realized something: those vitamin gummies hadn't made her weird at all. She'd just been waiting for the right kind of storm.

"Thoughtful's not a bad thing," Liam said, like he'd read her mind.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He reached for her hand, his palm warm against hers. "It's actually pretty perfect."

Another flash of lightning. This time, Maya didn't look away.